Dozens of residents of the village of al-Jarniya west of al-Raqqa took to the streets to protest against the repressive practices of the militias of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in the areas under their control. The PYD militias launched a large-scale arrest campaign against young men for forcible recruitment in the town of Manbaj in rural Aleppo on Tuesday.
According to Smart News Network, about 50 people gathered in front of one of the headquarters of the PYD militia in the village of Jarniya and demanded that the militia stops its repressive practices against the local population, including forced recruitment of the young men into its ranks.
The PYD militia, which is supported by the United States, has been accused of widespread violations against civilians in the areas under its control, including murder, arbitrary detention, torture, forced displacement and demographic change, and cracking down on political parties and the closure of their offices by force.
Recent months have seen burgeoning public outrage over the actions of the PYD militia in the areas under its control. Residents of the town of Manbij in eastern rural Aleppo held many protests against the practices of the PYD militia, calling for an end to such practices and the withdrawal of those militias from their town. They also protested against attempts by the PYD militia to forcibly recruit the young men in the town into its ranks and declared a general strike involving the closure of shops.
The Syrian Coalition earlier condemned the actions of the PYD militia as it reaffirmed its commitment to the aspirations of all the Syrians from all backgrounds and their years-long struggle against the tyrannical Assad regime and its allied foreign militias.
The Syrian Coalition also stressed the need to transfer Syria to the International Criminal Court to hold accountable all perpetrators of war crimes in Syria. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)